Nolan is one of nine individuals elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012 who have prior congressional experience. He served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, from 1974 to 1980.[2]

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Nolan is a more moderate left of center Democratic Party vote. As a result, he may break with the Democratic Party line more than his fellow members.

Biography

Upon graduating from Brainerd High School in 1962, he attended St. John's University and then completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Minnesota in 1966. While pursuing postgraduate work in public administration in policy formation at the University of Maryland, he served as a staff assistant to Walter Mondale in the U.S. Senate. [3]

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Bonner's academic, professional and political career:[4]

Owner and operator of a sawmill and wood pallet factory in Emily, Minnesota

Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management

Subcommittee on Highways and Transit

Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

Issues

Legislative actions

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[6] For more information pertaining to Nolan's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[7]

National security

American response in Syria

More than 100 House lawmakers signed a letter urging President Barack Obama to call Congress back into session if he planned to use military force in Syria.[8]

Rep. Scott Rigell wrote in the letter in August 2013, “engaging our military in Syria when no direct threat to the United States exists and without prior congressional authorization would violate the separation of powers that is clearly delineated in the Constitution.”[8][9]

The members of Congress believed that Obama should have asked Congress for permission before engaging in Libya. The letter asked, “If the use of 221 Tomahawk cruise missles, [sic] 704 Joint Direct Attack Munitions, and 42 Predator Hellfire missiles expended in Libya does not constitute ‘hostilities,’ what does?”[9]

The letter stated, “If you deem that military action in Syria is necessary, Congress can reconvene at your request. We stand ready to come back into session, consider the facts before us, and share the burden of decisions made regarding U.S. involvement in the quickly escalating Syrian conflict."[9]

On August 29, 2013, more than 50 HouseDemocrats signed a letter written by CaliforniaRep.Barbara Lee that called for a congressional resolution on strikes, and cautioned that the dire situation in Syria "should not draw us into an unwise war—especially without adhering to our constitutional requirements."[9][10] The letter also called on the Obama administration to work with the U.N. Security Council “to build international consensus” condemning the alleged use of chemical weapons. Nolan was one of the 50 Democrats in the House to sign the letter.[9][10]

NDAA

Nolan voted in opposition of HR 1960 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill passed the House on June 14, 2013, with a vote of 315 - 108. Both parties were somewhat divided on the vote.[11]

DHS Appropriations

Nolan voted in opposition of HR 2217 - the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2014. The bill passed the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 245 - 182 and was largely along party lines.[11]

Keystone Pipeline Amendment

Nolan voted against of House Amendment 69, which would have amended HR 3 to "require that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, conduct a study of the vulnerabilities of the Keystone XL pipeline to a terrorist attack and certify that necessary protections have been put in place." The amendment failed on May 22, 2013, with a vote of 176 - 239 and was largely along party lines.[11]

CISPA (2013)

Nolan voted in opposition of HR 624 - the CISPA (2013). The bill passed the House on April 18, 2013, with a vote of 288 - 127. The bill would allow federal intelligence agencies to share cybersecurity intelligence and information with private entities and utilities.[12] The bill was largely supported by Republicans, but divided the Democratic Party.[11]

Economy

2013 Farm Bill

Nolan opposed the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013. In a speech on the House floor on July 11, 2013, Nolan explained his vote. He said, "I am privileged to sit on the Agriculture Committee. During the markup of the farm bill earlier this year, my colleagues and I discussed and debated and deliberated for ten hours on every provision of this bill.

That bill included critical reform of the dairy program, reauthorization of the Rural Broadband program, as well as important provisions for organic producers, beginning farmers and ranchers, conservationists, and the forestry industry.

We reached a bipartisan consensus and 36 of us--myself included--cast a vote in support of the legislation.

Then, on the floor, the legislation was systematically dismantled, piece by piece, until it was barely recognizable as the same farm bill that came out of committee. It was no surprise that this bill failed."[13]

Government shutdown

On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201.[14] At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference.[15] Nolan voted against the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.[16]

The shutdown finally ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funds the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[17] The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. Nolan voted for HR 2775.[18]

Immigration

Immigration Executive Order

Morton Memos Prohibition

Nolan voted against House Amendment 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order. The amendment was adopted by the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 224 - 201. The purpose of the amendment as stated on the official text is to "prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the Morton Memos." These memos would have granted administrative amnesty to certain illegal aliens residing in the United States.[19] The vote largely followed party lines.[20]

Social issues

SNAP challenge

In June 2013, more than two dozen HouseDemocrats, including Nolan, took part in a SNAP challenge, feeding themselves for a week on the average benefit level of a SNAP recipient.[22] Participants agreed to eat all meals from a limited food budget comparable to that of a SNAP participant, approximately $1.50 per meal, or $4.50 a day.[23]

Campaign themes

2012

Excerpt: "With 8th District unemployment at over 10% (not counting the thousands of discouraged Minnesotans who have quit looking for jobs) we need a congressman who knows how to meet a payroll and balance a budget."[25]

Rebuilding America and Jobs

Excerpt: "Rebuilding America’s infrastructure – roads, bridges, wastewater treatment, mass transit and high-speed light-rail, would improve our quality of life, create millions of good paying jobs, and strengthen our economy. We can pay for this by ending the Bush tax cuts and loopholes for the rich, and by pulling back our military footprint in countries like Japan that pose no threat to us whatsoever."[26]

Medicare

Excerpt: "Don’t turn Medicare into a voucher system for insurance companies, which will mean higher costs and less treatment."[27]

Social Security

Excerpt: "Social Security is a compact with the American people that must be honored. Don’t turn it over to Wall Street. Stabilize the Social Security Fund for generations to come by requiring the very rich to pay Social Security taxes on a higher percentage of their income."[28]

Education for America’s Future

Excerpt: "Fix a broken college loan system that saddles many graduates with crushing debt they will spend most of their working lives attempting to repay. Higher education must be a right for all – not simply a privilege for the well off."[29]

Support the ERA for Women

Excerpt: "America has come a long way in advancing civil rights for all citizens. Yet women still face significant gender discrimination in a host of areas including education, employment, health care, pensions and social security benefits."[30]

Wars in the Middle East

Excerpt: "America is deeply involved in expensive wars with no apparent plan for winning them or concluding them. We need to devote those resources to jobs and the economy here at home. So bring the troops home now."[31]

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Nolan is available dating back to 2012. Based on available campaign finance records, Nolan raised a total of $1,256,440 during that time period. This information was last updated on June 17, 2013.[36]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Nolan missed 703 of 4,156 roll call votes from January 1975 to April 2013, which is 16.9% of votes during that period. This is worse than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. [50]

Net worth

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Nolan's net worth as of 2012 was estimated between $696,008 and $1,515,000. That averages to $1,105,504, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic representatives in 2012 of $5,700,168.36. Nolan ranked as the 200th most wealthy representative in 2012.[51]

Rick Nolan Yearly Net Worth

Year

Avg. Net Worth

% Difference from previous year

2012

$1,105,504.00

-1.69%

2011

$1,124,505.00

N/A

Personal

Nolan is married to Mary. They have children and grandchildren. He hunts, harvests wild rice, boils maple syrup and enjoys fishing.[52]

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